The Exile
by Daxeris
Summary: Riven has been dead for quite a while now. Unbeknownst to the rest of Noxus, she's been living in exile. Now that Jericho Swain has taen over Noxus, Riven has come back to find out what the hell just happened. Talon has been flying under the radar ever since he joined the military in Noxus. When Talon discovers Riven is still alive, shit starts going down.


Chapter 1:

Talon had lost Katarina in the crowd at Jericho Swain's coronation. To be completely honest, this isn't the first time she had decided to wander off; he was completely used to it by now. As a member of the Noxian military, he was required, by law, to be present. In his opinion, it was completely useless. The city-state was no less prosperous when Darkwill had assumed the power of High General. At least, he had hoped, Swain wouldn't be as power hungry as Darkwill had.

In the middle of Swain's unnecessarily long and "grand" speech, Talon had glanced at a stray poster on the wall he was leaning up against. It was an advertisement for the Noxian military. "Join the Noxian Armed Forces to bring Honor to yourself and those around you!" From the condition of the stationary it was printed on, the poster was extremely outdated. That, and the fact that _she _was still adorned on its page.

Riven. She was the poster child of Noxus. Gifted with astounding talent in the field of swordsmanship, Riven rose up in ranks at an alarming rate. She entered battles with zero trepidation, and often fought valiantly enough to send the enemy scattering. After a battle with Ionian forces, she was counted dead among the other soldiers in the area. When news of her death spread to the inner city, the tragedy struck everyone hard. Though Noxus wasn't particularly the most welcoming and warm city-state, soldiers are often revered for their self-sacrifice in battle. Everyone, including Talon himself, looked up to her. A small memorial had been set up in the military headquarters in honor of Riven.

Talon snapped out of his reverie to notice that the crowd had thinned out; Swain's coronation ceremony was over, and he was free to go. With Katarina still nowhere to be found, Talon pushed himself off the wall and made his way to the outer city tavern. _If she needed me_, he reasoned, _she'd come find me._ Before leaving the area, he stopped abruptly, as to avoid bumping into a stray child, and cut off the person who was behind him. The person scoffed and went around Talon. He turned and peered at the girl who had brushed past him. Before he could get a good look at her, she vaulted over the wall with ease. Just before she sailed over the other side, her olive green hood flew off and a flurry of white hair came loose from its hold. If he had been drunk, he could've sworn that Riven had just jumped out of that poster and over the wall.

Upon arriving at Doran's Tavern, Talon immediately made his way to the bar. The usually blithesome atmosphere was nowhere to be seen; Talon figured it was because of the coronation. Swain wasn't as popular as he would like to believe.

"Back so soon, Talon, baby?" cooed the bar hag. She'd been trying for months now to take him into her bed. "The usual, then?"

Talon nodded once and rested his arms on the bar, sighing heavily. Lately, all he could do was drink. There wasn't much joy in his life to begin with, and, at this rate, the Noxian military was slowly driving him mad. Between Katarina's constant nagging and this whole "League of Legends" bullshit, he was just about done with everything at this point. His regular visits to Doran's place were the only thing keeping him sane. Of course, there are some drawbacks. When he likes to get drunk, he usually wakes up in some strange bed with some maiden he's never met. The latest drunken escapade ended with him tied to a headboard and half of his gold missing. He shuddered, recalling the instance. Luck never seemed to be on his side.

When the hag placed his pint of Hogwash in front of him, Talon took a large swig. He relaxed visibly. Upon hearing the door to the mostly empty tavern open, he turned around to glance at the same girl who had vaulted over the back alley wall. At least, he was pretty sure it was; Hogwash tends to blur things. She kept her head down and took a seat at the bar. The bar hag reluctantly pulled herself away from Talon, and asked the strange girl what she would like.

"_Is Doran in?_" she spoke quietly, her head dipped low. "_Tell him… The Exile is in need of assistance._" Looking at her strangely, she opened one of the doors behind the counter and called out for Doran. There was a gruff response back in some sort of language Talon had no knowledge of.

She climbed over the bar and walked right through the door, gruffly pushing the hag out of the way. Whoever she was, she was the sort of girl that clearly needed things done _her _way.

"What a bitch," commented the bar hag, watching the door slam close. "She needs to-"

By that point, Talon had stopped listening. He took another swig of his drink and let his sense blur together.

Of all the things Riven was not quite ready for, it was the news of High General Darkwill's death and Jericho Swain's immediate rise in ranks. She knew, of all the people who could assume the rank of High General, Swain was definitely not the person she had in mind. _They should have _at least _thought of the leader of the Crimson Elite,_ she thought angrily throughout her journey back to Noxus. _Swain pulled some voodoo horse shit to get that rank. I know he did._ Here she was, taking time out of her own busy schedule, to go _back _to her place of birth, knowing full well that the majority of its citizens thought she was dead, and risking her own neck just to see how and why Swain rose to the rank of High General n such a short period of time.

Riven stood a relatively safe distance away from the crowd, taking in Swain's _complete and utter _bullshit of a speech. "_Bring Honor back to Noxus!" _He says. "_Take back what was once ours!_" He says. _What a load of crock. _She had never been so insulted in her entire life; Noxus' Honor was solely hers. She cultivated it on her own, and she will _not _stand for someone of Swain's caliber making a mockery of her like that. She could literally just throttle him.

After letting the crowd thin out a bit, Riven slowly made her way out of the plaza. She needed to head to Doran's place to get the low down on the whole Swain situation. Doran was usually good with rumors and tidbits of information not usually found on the street. And he was the only person she could trust with her identity at the moment. Of all the Noxians she knew, Doran was the only one who knew she was still alive.

Back in the days of old, before Riven's "death", she had been sent into the battlefield to fight the terrifying Zaunite war machines. To say the least, she wasn't prepared for this sort of combat nor was she trained in it. However, she carried out her superior's orders with ease. Later on, it became clear that they couldn't simply reform the Ionians; they had to be terminated. Soon, the Ionian forces had surrounded Riven, and she couldn't take them all alone. Singed swooped in and decided to be the biggest cunt in the world, ultimately throwing acid on just about everyone in the area. Sustaining serious injuries, Riven managed to escape. She was later counted dead by all of Noxia. As soon as word got back to her, she decided to erase her past completely. Using a boulder, Riven smashed her rune sword to pieces. She wandered around for years as a self-proclaimed exile. She lived her life embodying the Noxian spirit that she believed in. Now, she was back.

Carefully sidestepping some Noxian Assassin, Riven managed to throw herself over the back alley wall. She then ran quickly to the outer city tavern, avoiding the curious gazes from the Noxians she passed.

Upon arriving at the tavern, Riven noticed how truly empty it was. It was usually a pain to get into Doran's Tavern, considering it was the nicest venue the outer city had to offer. It wasn't anything special, really. The wooden tables' legs were all uneven. The chairs looked as if they're held together by super glue. The old flooring had several holes and scuffs left by the tavern's patrons. In all reality, the place looked like a dump. But, for whatever reason, people kept on coming. It's been like that for as long as she could remember. There was no one else at the bar, save for the troll behind the counter and a Noxian military combatant (This surprised her greatly, since military personnel were usually in that one "bunny bar" within the inner city). She saw no threat and simply kept her head down, her olive green hood held in place. She sat down at the bar and spoke softly to the troll, hoping Doran was inside. Hearing Doran's foreign tongue respond to her gruffly was all she needed. Immediately, she vaulted over the table.

Once the door behind her was closed, Riven leaned up against the wall and stared at Doran.

"To what do I owe such a rare visit, Exile?" Doran asked, his accent fumbling over the Noxian language. He used one of his colossal hands to smooth out his greying beard.

"Can't I just pop in to say hello?" She responded innocently, taking off her hood.

Doran huffed. "The entirety of Noxus thinks you are dead, Riven. Why would you go through all of this trouble just to 'pop in'?" Riven sighed.

"I need some information."

"Interesting," he said. He walked around his desk and sat down, gesturing to the chair across from him. She took the seat and sighed heavily.

"Swain's coronation. How and why."

"Ah! You see, that is quite the coincidence, dear child. I just heard an interesting bit of information this morning on the subject!" His wrinkly old face lit up in acknowledgment.

"Do tell."

"Well, you see," he began, leaning forward to rest his arms on the desk. "ever since Darkwill's death, things have been more than unusual down at the military headquarters. Everyone that was close to Darkwill mysteriously… 'disappeared'. In other words, everyone other than the new High General himself was immediately disposed of. I do not know if this is the information that you seek, young Exile, but that is best that I can do as of late."

Riven's ruby eyes widened as she thought of all the nobles that were probably off'd so that Swain could take his place as High General. She knew Swain was a power hungry mongrel, but she didn't think he'd _ever _stoop this low. Hell, she wouldn't even _think _of sinking to that sort of level so she can be some figurehead with very limited power. The thought of it pissed her off. Big time.

"That's absolute bullshit!" Riven shouted, slamming her hands on the desk. "Of all of the rotten things _anyone _could do, why would he-"

"It is time for you to leave. I am expecting a few more visitors tonight, and I know you really do not want to be there when they arrive." Doran spoke calmly, trying to diffuse Riven's anger.

She nodded and got up from the chair. "Thanks, old man. I'll be sure to visit on a happier note the next time I'm in town."

"Do not bother."

Riven opened the door and shot Doran the traditional Noxian salute and left the small room.

"Riven?" called out a particularly velvet voice.

_Oh shit. _


End file.
